MinDA eyes PO system to boost agri- production

MinDA eyes PO system to boost agri-production Mindanao News

By Prexx Marnie Kate Trozo

DAVAO CITY – The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) said it is finalizing a purchase order or PO system for farmers to help them secure more capital and increase productivity.

In a Facebook post on Friday, MinDA Secretary Emmanuel Piñol described the PO system as a “marketdriven food production concept” in which a PO is issued before farmers or fishermen start production, which in turn could be used as a guarantee for a bank financing. Piñol said the concept is being “fine-tuned” by MinDA with the help of the private sector. “When this is done, MinDA will choose a pilot province where the program will be initially implemented,” he said while noting that as the country faces an uncertain supply of food, many farmers are still hesitant to expand their rice, chicken and hog farms. This, he said, can be attributed to the recent pronouncement of the Department of Agriculture (DA) that it will rely mainly on imports. Piñol said a farmer recently expressed fear of possible economic displacement if the country is inundated with imported agricultural products as soon as the public health emergency is lifted. “Their fear, indeed, has a basis. Over the last few days, I have worked on a concept of a food banking system where the farmer engages his local government unit to produce the food needed in the relief operations for the Covid-19 crisis,” he said. Under the system, he said the farmer will be issued a “food bank receipt” that could be used in availing of financing from Food Bank Concept (Graphics and illustration by MinDA)